Hazleton, Barletta expect legal defense fund donations to rise

By Wade Malcolm


Staff Writer

When Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta’s assistant checked the office voice mail box at 7 p.m. Thursday, it was full.

Three hours later, it had filled again.

By 6 p.m. Friday, it was loaded with yet another batch of well-wishers, some asking how they could donate to the city’s legal defense fund.

Then there’s the city’s e-mail inbox. Cherie Homa, the assistant, estimates it has received more than 500 messages since a federal judge struck down the Illegal Immigration Relief Act Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve been going non-stop,â€